


A Late Night Drive

by wlwchiaki



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Driving, F/F, Kissing at Midnight, Lesbian, Lesbians, One Shot, Oneshot, POV First Person, POV Lesbian Character, Random & Short, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, drive, tenkaede, they're lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24153088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wlwchiaki/pseuds/wlwchiaki
Summary: When Kaede wakes up from nightmares about then killing game, she finds an unlikely friend- or something more.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede & Chabashira Tenko, Akamatsu Kaede/Chabashira Tenko
Kudos: 23





	A Late Night Drive

I wake up screaming, my hands going directly to my neck. I swear I can still feel the phantom noose around it. The piano music of Der Flohwalzer is still echoing in the back of my mind. 

My fake execution that happened two years ago still haunts me to this day. The nightmares didn't happen as often, but they still do plague me occasionally. I sigh, and go on my phone. I play some classical music to try and calm myself down, but it doesn't seem to be working. It's 2 AM.

Should I text someone? Who would even answer at this hour? Probably Shuichi, but he's such an empath it's hard to vent to him without feeling bad. I just want someone to distract me right now.

I scroll through my contacts. Kirumi? No, she goes to bed at 9 o'clock every night. Maki? No way. She'd just get super mad about the killing game and would rage for a few hours.

Hmmm... Tenko. She's my other best friend, along with Shuichi. I decide to text her. 

"You up?" Amazingly, three bubbles pop up as she starts typing immediately.

"Yeah!!! I was going for a late night jog lakjhflwuieh" I laugh a little. 

"What's up??"

"I had a nightmare, just woke up :/"

"Aw Kaede I'm sorry, I still get those too :( want me to come over?"

I think about it for a second, but I kind of just want to get out of here. My house is so empty and quiet.

"Nah, I kind of want to get out."

"Alright ;)"

"What does that mean??"

";)" 

I roll my eyes, grinning in spite of myself. Tenko is pretty unpredictable sometimes. I run over to my closet and grab a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. I'm just finishing putting on my converse when I hear someone knock on my door.

"Heyyy!!!" Tenko gives me a big hug. I blush, and hug her back. 

She looks at me and pouts, cupping my face in two of her hands.

"Hmmm. It's worse than I thought. No worries, Tenko's gotcha!!" She grabs my hand and pulls me out of the house. 

"Where are we going?" I giggle. She pulls me over to her car, the sunroof open.

"Everywhere!" She jumps in the driver's seat. I get in the passenger's.

"And yet nowhereeeee!!" She reaches over to the stereo and turns on the radio. Intense rock music fills the car. It's strangely calming, and we both start screaming along to the lyrics. We're driving on the mostly empty highway, the moon bright above us. 

After a few minutes though, I start to get overwhelmed by all the sound. That's when a keyboard solo comes in and I start to freak out. I feel tears coming to my eyes, and I start to claw at the phantom rope around my neck. I can't breathe, it's too loud... 

Tenko seems to notice I'm not singing along since she turns off the radio.

"Ah, Kaede??" I can't talk. She pulls over to a rest stop, which is empty. She opens the windows, and the night air is comfortingly quiet and cool. It takes me a few minutes of hyperventilating before I'm able to regain composure.

"I'm sorry..." I massage my neck around the scar the noose left all those years ago.

"Don't apologize." She turns towards me and pushes a lock of my blonde hair behind my ear. I smile half-heartedly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I face her. She takes one of my hands and squeezes it reassuringly.

"Ever since we all woke up after the killing game... I haven't been able to play or listen to any piano. Every time I try, I just remember my execution. It's just been so hard to ignore what was once my passion."

"Oh, Kaede... I'm so sorry." She says sympathetically. 

"I just feel like even though it's been two years ago, I'm still stuck in that stupid academy." I chuckle, and wipe away my tears.

"If my plan had succeeded, I never would have- none of this would have-" I sob, falling onto Tenko's shoulder. She puts a hand on my head and strokes my hair as I cry. After a few minutes, she gently picks my head up and wipes away my tears with one hand.

"You have to let it go... it's not your fault what happened, it's no one's but Danganronpa Salmon Team's fault. You had the best intentions and that's all that matters. It's all in the past Kaede." 

"I guess..." I sigh.

"You know what helped me get past it all?" I nod.

"I talked to Korekiyo. We talked about how he was traumatized and abused by his sister, and how mentally ill he was. He apologized and told me about how he was thinking about going to a mental hospital. And... I forgave him."

"What?" I haven't talked to most of my classmates since the killing game, other than Shuichi, Tenko, and Kokichi, since I was closest with them.

"Yeah. And I talked to Himiko and Angie as well." She smiles when she says Himiko, which pains me for some reason.

"And yeah, I still get flashbacks and nightmares, but I don't feel the guilt." 

"That's... amazing, actually." I laugh slightly. 

"I really think you should talk to Rantaro and Tsumugi. Especially when we know Tsumugi was brainwashed like the rest of us."

"I should... it's just..." I sigh.

"I'm scared Rantaro will hate me."

"They won't hate you. In fact-" She pauses, like she's not sure if she should say whatever she's going to say.

"In fact, we actually talk about you a lot. We miss you." I feel my face flush, and I spring up.

"What?!"

"Don't be mad! But Rantaro, Tsumugi, Kiyo, Himiko, Angie, Miu, Gonta, Maki, and Shuichi and I meet up once a week to just hang out, like go to the movies or go bowling or something. We're trying to get the others to join us, including you. We all went through a traumatic event, and it's honestly pretty therapeutic to be going through it together."

I think about it for a few seconds. I never thought about interacting with any of the others. I guess I've been too scared to.

"Would you...?"

"I would love to." I smile. She smiles back. I notice we're still holding hands. She most notice that too since she blushes and pulls her hand away. I notice it's almost 3 AM.

"Should we go home? Or..." I wink at her.

"Hell no! Let's keep on driving, Akamatsu!" I cheer, and she starts up the car again.

We spend the next few hours screaming our heart out to music, cruising down the empty highways, and getting slushies from 7-11.

"WOOOHOOOO!!!" I shout out the sunroof into the cool night air. Tenko sets the car to auto-drive and stands up next to me, grabbing my hand and raising it high in the air.

We face each other, the wind bringing tears to our eyes, and smile. Her gaze suddenly softens, and the smile melts of her face, leaving her lips slightly parted. 

Suddenly she's leaning into me, our lips touching for a few seconds before I abruptly pull away.

"Wait, I thought you were into Himiko??" I ask, blushing madly. 

"I was!!" 

"Well I like you!!" I say. 

"I like you too, you stupid lesbian!!" She shouts, and kisses me again. I melt into the kiss, the cold wind blowing our hair around. There's a few seconds of pure bliss and warmness in our kiss, before the car suddenly swerves and we both fall back into the car.

"Ah!" She takes the wheel and laughs. I laugh too, on an incredible endorphin high. I kiss her again quickly, and the car takes a sharp turn for a few seconds.

"We're gonna get in a car crash!!" Tenko shouts. 

"Okay, okay!" I giggle.

We end up collapsing at her house, the sun beginning to rise. We are cuddling on her couch. I'm exhausted, but I'm too busy kissing her to fall asleep.

"I think I'm gonna talk to Tsumugi and Rantaro tomorrow." I murmur softly. She nestles her face into my shoulder.

"Good to hear." She kisses my neck. 

"Are we dating now?" I ask a few minutes later. There's no answer from Tenko, so I move to try and see her face. I realize she's completely passed out, which makes me laugh.

I guess I'll ask in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Make sure to check out my other works, or buymeacoffee also @wlwchiaki :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [you, me, girl in red, and kokichi’s car](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28470063) by [frog_lesbian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frog_lesbian/pseuds/frog_lesbian)




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